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And Cook is even talking with D.C. reporters ahead of his visit, including POLITICO in a rare interview.

The Apple offensive is a reminder of how powerful even an unpopular Washington remains, when it can still make even a mega-brand nervous.

"We don't have a large presence in Washington, as you probably know, but we care deeply about public policy and believe creative policy can be a huge catalyst for a better society and a stronger economy," Cook said in the interview.

He also defended his company's conduct. “I can tell you unequivocally Apple does not funnel its domestic profits overseas. We don't do that. We pay taxes on all the products we sell in the U.S., and we pay every dollar that we owe. And so I'd like to be really clear on that,” Cook said.

Tuesday’s hearing will be political theater at its finest — senior senators on their home turf looking to crucify a high-profile executive for the cameras, with little legislative action ever to result from it.

For Cook, it'll be the same hot seat before the same Senate committee that summoned Microsoft and HP last year for a verbal bludgeoning — a showdown that hardly stopped businesses from trying to lower their tax bills through controversial means.

Like many other tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, Apple has legally kept money overseas, allegedly to avoid paying steep U.S. taxes. The iPhone maker held $102.3 billion in cash offshore as of March 30, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. That’s a 24 percent increase from Sept. 30.

Veteran tech lobbyist Bruce Mehlman said the entire system needs to be overhauled.

"The tax system is broken; it's not competitive," Mehlman said, noting that Apple faces far greater taxes than its tech competitors, like Korea-based Samsung. "The policymakers made the code, and it's not nearly as flat, simple and logical as it should be, so companies across all sectors do what they can to minimize [their] tax burden and maximize research and product development. Tech is no different."

Apple only invited new controversy, however, when the company announced last month it had borrowed $17 billion to buy back some of its stock. Rather than tap its overseas cash hoard — a move that would have inflated its tax bill — Apple instead had decided to take advantage of low interest rates and essentially borrow the money.

It's precisely the sort of move that long has infuriated lawmakers of both parties, who for years have hammered businesses across industries — but especially technology — for their creative tax-avoidance strategies

At last year's hearing, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) blasted the entire industry as "probably the No. 1 user of these offshore entities" that allow tech companies to dodge U.S. liabilities.

Levin will again chair the hearing at which Cook, along with other federal officials, are slated to testify. And the top Apple executive isn't going to find its familiar fanboys on the dais: Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), for one, infamously said last year he was "livid" at reports of Apple's tax tactics. Both Levin and Coburn did not comment for this story.

Still, Cook's new charm offensive doubles as a new strategy for a company that for years relied on its status as a darling of the tech industry, its intense customer brand loyalty and its superstar former CEO, Steve Jobs, to keep it above the political fray.